Book IV: Probe Problems

[tiff15]

Chapter 5 part 1

Chapter 5

Tristina quietly peered around the junk pile, then ducked back again as a green and black hovercraft flew past. As Tristina peered out again, she noticed two swatbots standing guard at a door. "Terrific. A welcoming committe." Tristina breathed sarcastically, biting her lip in thought. *How in Mobius am I going to get passed those bots?* Tristina thought, looking around for a solution. "I've been working with Rotor on controlling swatbots," Tristina breathed to her lap. "I'm a long way away from controlling them completely, but..." Tristina paused, peering around the corner. "Maybe I can scramble the video and audio sensors?" raising her palm, Tristina's eyes faded to a pure white as a transparent blue keyboard appeared at her fingertips. Looking to the swatbot to the left of the door, Tristina began to type.

***

"Thats it Sal." Uncle Chuck whispered as he, Princess Sally, Sonic, Rotor, Antione and Bunnie hid behind a disused generator. beyond them was a large slightly egg shaped tower. "The control center?" Sally asked, looking to the robotic hedgehog. Uncle chucks red eyes fell upon the princess's blue ones. "Right. thats where you have to cut the main power circuts." Uncle Chuck then looked beyond the princess to the blue hedgehog kneeling beside her. "Sonny, after you get them. come on back here." "You got it." said Sonic, giving his uncle a thumbs up...and then lowering it as he growled and held his head. "Uncle Chuck, you feelin' okay?" Sonic asked, concern lacing the question. "Fine, dont worry about me." said Uncle Chuck, looking up to his nephew. "We dont have much time." "I'm outta here." said Sonic, getting up and jogging over to the entrance to the tower. Picking up a loose screw cover on the way, Sonic pulled his arm back and threw it. The swatbot stiffly pointed its laser cannon at the bolt as it bounced off its dome like head, then raised as its audio sensors detected a voice calling "Hey Lead head!" Sonic stood a few feet infront of the swatbot, arms crossed and tapping his foot.

without even lowering its arm, the swatbot fired a laser blast at Sonic. Faster than the blink of a eye, Sonic pulled out the mirror Sally had slapped out his hand earlier and held it up infront of his head. "Back at 'cha!" He called as the laser blast reflected off the mirror. the blast struck the robotic sentinel in the chest and created a bright blue aura of electricity around him. The swatbot swayed as its systems were simutaniously shut down, then stumbled to the edge of the catwalk and fell, dissapearing into the rocky depths below. Cupping his hand as if to throw a ball, Sonic waved it from the generator over to himself. in response, Sally, Rotor and Antione jogged over to the grinning hedgehog.

Sonic fell back behind Rotor, allowing Sally to lead the charge towards the beige steel doors. Just as the princess was feet from the doors, a loud electronic wirring reached the group's ears. Gasping with Rotor, Sally and Antione ran to the left of the bay doors while Sonic and Rotor hid on the right. A lone swatbot passed them without so much as a backward glance, having missed the intruders completely. Taking this chance, Sally, Rotor, and Antione slipped into the bay doors as they were closing. Sonic, however, stopped as the doors closed and turned. "Hey Electro breath." Sonic called with a grin. "Get ready for a laser lunch!" The swatbot turned, raised its arm mounted laser cannon at the priority one hedgehog and fired. Sonic waited until the last second, then leapt to the side. The missed laser struck the oddly reflective bay doors and struck the swatobot in its chest, knocking it off its feet and hurdling it off the platform to the jagged rocks below.

***

"Sir, Last transmission from Team 6 was Hacker sighting in sector 14. Swatbot patrol reports that team 6 has been destroyed." Snivley reported. "Survaillence orbs inside the tower report that the Hacker has infiltrated the building, and is now examing the interior structure." "Get a team of swatbots out there and stop her!" Robotnik ordered, slamming his fist down on the arm of his chair. "Y-yes sir." Snivley stammered, turning to begin typing the orders.

Robotnik growled from his command chair, staring at a picture of a light blue hedgehog with bluish silver eyes in a wheelchair. "Foolish Hacker." Robotnik muttered, his eyes flashing momentarily. "You will pay for the humiliation you've caused me. You and the hedgehog."

[tiff15]

Chapter 5 part 1

Tristina quietly peered around the junk pile, then ducked back again as a green and black hovercraft flew past. As Tristina peered out again, she noticed two swatbots standing guard at a door. "Terrific. A welcoming committe." Tristina breathed sarcastically, biting her lip in thought. How in Mobius am I going to get passed those bots? Tristina thought, looking around for a solution. "I've been working with Rotor on controlling swatbots," Tristina breathed to her lap. "I'm a long way away from controlling them completely, but..." Tristina paused, peering around the corner. "Maybe I can scramble the video and audio sensors?" raising her palm, Tristina's eyes faded to a pure white as a transparent blue keyboard appeared at her fingertips. Looking to the swatbot to the left of the door, Tristina began to type.

***

"Thats it Sal." Uncle Chuck whispered as he, Princess Sally, Sonic, Rotor, Antione and Bunnie hid behind a disused generator. beyond them was a large slightly egg shaped tower. "The control center?" Sally asked, looking to the robotic hedgehog. Uncle chucks red eyes fell upon the princess's blue ones. "Right. thats where you have to cut the main power circuts." Uncle Chuck then looked beyond the princess to the blue hedgehog kneeling beside her. "Sonny, after you get them. come on back here." "You got it." said Sonic, giving his uncle a thumbs up...and then lowering it as Sir Charles growled and held his head. "Uncle Chuck, you feelin' okay?" Sonic asked, concern lacing the question. "Fine, dont worry about me." said Uncle Chuck, looking up to his nephew. "We dont have much time." "I'm outta here." said Sonic, getting up and jogging over to the entrance to the tower. Picking up a loose screw cover on the way, Sonic pulled his arm back and threw it. The swatbot stiffly pointed its laser cannon at the bolt as it bounced off its dome like head, then raised as its audio sensors detected a voice calling "Hey Lead head!" Sonic stood a few feet infront of the swatbot, arms crossed and tapping his foot.

without even lowering its arm, the swatbot fired a laser blast at Sonic. Faster than the blink of a eye, Sonic pulled out the mirror Sally had slapped out his hand earlier and held it up infront of his head. "Back at 'cha!" He called as the laser blast reflected off the mirror. the blast struck the robotic sentinel in the chest and created a bright blue aura of electricity around him. The swatbot swayed as its systems were simutaniously shut down. finally, stumbled to the edge of the catwalk and fell, dissapearing into the rocky depths below. Cupping his hand as if to throw a ball, Sonic waved it from the generator over to himself. in response, Sally, Rotor and Antione jogged over to the grinning hedgehog.

Sonic fell back behind Rotor, allowing Sally to lead the charge towards the beige steel doors. Just as the princess was feet from the doors, a loud electronic wirring reached the group's ears. Gasping with Rotor, Sally and Antione ran to the left of the bay doors while Sonic and Rotor hid on the right. A lone swatbot passed them without so much as a backward glance, having missed the intruders completely. Taking this chance, Sally, Rotor, and Antione slipped into the bay doors as they were closing. Sonic, however, stopped as the doors closed and turned. "Hey Electro breath." Sonic called with a grin. "Get ready for a laser lunch!" The swatbot turned, raised its arm mounted laser cannon at the priority one hedgehog and fired. Sonic waited until the last second, then leapt to the side. The missed laser struck the oddly reflective bay doors and struck the swatobot in its chest, knocking it off its feet and hurdling it off the platform to the jagged rocks below.

***

"Sir, Last transmission from Team 6 was Hacker sighting in sector 14. Swatbot patrol reports that team 6 has been destroyed." Snivley reported. "Survaillence orbs inside the tower report that the Hacker has infiltrated the building, and is now examing the interior structure." "Get a team of swatbots out there and stop her!" Robotnik ordered, slamming his fist down on the arm of his chair. "Y-yes sir." Snivley stammered, turning to begin typing the orders.

Robotnik growled from his command chair, staring at a picture of a light blue hedgehog with bluish silver eyes in a wheelchair. "Foolish Hacker." Robotnik muttered, his eyes flashing momentarily. "You will pay for the humiliation you've caused me. You and the hedgehog."

[tiff15]

Authors Note: I realized too late that I accidentally named chapter 5 part 1 and chapter 5 part 2 BOTH chapter 5 part 1. so I'm just going to go ahead and name this part Chapter 5 part 3. the SECOND chapter 5 part 1 is really chapter 5 part 2, so theres no mistake in numbering. Sorry about the confusion.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 5 part 3


.......
Enter Username:
Username: Pri1HedgyRulz
Password:*******
Password Accepted.
Accessing Spy Tower Mainframe.
.....
....
....
....
Spy Tower Mainframe accessed.
Locate central control access port...
Reducing control to sector A of Unit username 'Pri1HedgyRulz'


Tristina's eyes faded to thier usual colors as the co ordinates for the command center inside the tower flashed across her mind.

Looking around from inside the small alcove in which her wheelchair was parked, Tristina thought of how beautiful and impressive the streams of rainbow like waves of energy passing from one small block like port to the next would seem to the average mobian.

To her, however, they were a minor annoyance and fuel for a oncoming headache. Just as her arms had arched back to push her forward, the door several feet below her slid open and 8 swatbots, each in a team of 2, entered into the tower.

"Search the tower." the first swatbot droned. "Locate priority one Hacker." So much for taking the direct root up. Tristina thought, looking up at a platform far above her. Bald Boy must know I'm here. Lets see... Tristina thought, slowly and quietly backing further into the alcove so as not to be seen.

leaning over one side of her wheelchair, Tristina's eyes searched the tangled nest of wires, lights, and metal. relaxing, Tristina repeated the maneuver for the other side. Behind her, Tristina spotted a covered grate behind her. returning to her proper sitting position, Tristina reached behind her and felt the wall. as soon as her fingers proclaimed the touch of the slats of the grate, Tristina let them guide her to the edges and allowed them to wrap around the slats. Just as she managed to pry off the cover, a familiar metallic clanking reached her ears.

Swatbot 203 stopped and shined its light in the alcove. the various wires, lights, and metal were of no concern to it. Nothing matching the profile of Priority One Hacker presented itself.

shining its finger flashlight in front of it, the swatbot continued on its search for its target. It's sensors never detected the two small eyes peering out from behind the slated air duct.

Tristina sighed quietly through her nose, relieved as the swatbots clanking boots faded along the exterior catwalk.

As silence reclaimed the area, Tristina quietly wheeled away from the vent and began making her way down the cramped air duct.

[tiff15]

Chapter 5 part 4

"Slice of pie, espa?"

after unknowingly butchering the phrase, Antione peered out from behind the metal beam then ran across the hallway to its neighbor.

"Antione," said Rotor wearily as he and Princess Sally ducked behind the coyote. "Its 'A piece of cake'." "Yes," Antione replied, peering out once again. "I am...happy this is so." He continued, before racing towards the open airlock. Rotor barely made it past as the door hissed closed.

***
Meanwhile, on the cliffs near the catwalks, Uncle Chuck, Bunnie, and Sonic slowly made thier way down the face of the cliff towards a cave at its base.

"I'll go first." Uncle Chuck announced when they were a few feet above the blackish mound.

"Careful Uncle Chuck" Sonic replied, concern in his voice as the elderly hedgehog released the rope and landed securly on the top of the mound.

"Whats next Uncle Chuck?" Sonic asked after landing beside his uncle. dropping to his hands and knees, Uncle Chuck held up one finger and pointed upwards as Sonic and Bunnie copied him.

"Your about to meet the most powerful 'bot of all." Uncle chuck warned as the ground began to shake.

Out of the inky depths of the cavern below them, a dull teal and light gray monsterous robot rumbled into the light.

its dull yellow eyes depiced no heart, soul or desire except for that of its master. as the tank like treads crushed the dead earth below it, Sonic barely held back his amazement.

"Man, that is one serious bot!" Sonic exclaimed, the bot's sheer girth and height almost matching the crystal they sought to stop.

"Its a dino bot." said Uncle Chuck gravely. "A deadly planet devouring machine."

"Ol' Sugah Tiff would have ah grand time hackin' that, wouldn't she?" Bunnie asked, smiling to Sonic behind Uncle Chuck.

the darker hedgehog nodded, smiling in return, then returned his focus to the monstrosity below them.

"I wish that dude was on our side." Sonic said longingly.

"Thats my plan, Sonic" replied Uncle Chuck. "but first we have to get to its controls...inside." Then, with a 'just follow me', Uncle Chuck leapt off the cavern roof and onto the back of the dino bot.

Glancing to one another, Sonic and Bunnie copied the elderly hedgehog and landed at his side. rumbling to a stop, the monsterious dino bot slowly began to raise its thick block like head.

gears whirring, the beast slammed its lower jaw onto the dusty ground below. Sonic, Bunnie, and Uncle chuck cried out as they were tossed from the dino bots back to its muzzle.

the gears sang once again as the dino bot repeated the previous gesture, its yellowish orange eyes glowing menacingly.

Uncle Chuck let out a 'harrumph!' as he fell, then tumbled to the ground in front of the bot. Its yellow glowing eyes seemed to flash as the dino bot eyed its prey and let its lower jaw fall slightly open.

"See you inside!" Uncle chuck called to his nephew as they watched from thier perch on the dino bots snout.

Finally, with surprising swiftness, the dino bot consumed Uncle Chuck, leaving only a small crater where the elderly robotic hedgehog had been.

"Uncle Chuck!" Sonic cried as the dino bot raised its square shaped head yet again.

"Oh my stars," gasped Bunnie "Are we gonna have to do THAT?" she asked, pointing to the crater. "No prob," said Sonic, frowning in thought before adding "come on."

With that, the blue hedgehog slid to the end of the crude snout of the Dino bot, swung his legs into its toothy mouth, then landed in a squatting position on the flat metal surface.

Bunnie soon joined him, moaning "Oh, I hate this part."

As he gazed into the inky depths of the dino bots gullet, Uncle Chucks echoing voice called "Lets go, Sonny boy!" Almost as if on cue, the dino bot slowly began to close its flat rectangular mouth.

Sonic and Bunnie grunted as they pushed on the upper and lower jaws of the dino bot, the darkness of the dino bots jaws engulfing them.

Almost seconds later, the jaws were open again as the dino bot raised its head vertically. "B-Bunnie!" Sonic stammered hanging onto one of the slats of the dino bots lower jaw.

"Can you jam its jaws open?" "I'll sure give it a try, sugar hog!" Bunnie cried, stumbling over to the flat crease of the dino bots jaws.

Closing its mouth once again, the dino bot opened its jaws once again as Bunnie braced both feet on the dino bots lower jaw.

as the dino bot began to close its jaws a final time, Bunnie slammed her left hand on the robots upper jaw and begin to push it open.

at first, the dino Bot resisted the motion. grunting, Bunnie's arm slowly straightened as the dino bot's jaws began to open past its capabilities.

"C'mon move!" Bunnie grunted to the upper jaw, pushing the gears of her robotic left arm almost to the breaking point.

With a final grunt, the dino bots jaw clicked into place and Bunnie removed her hand. "All right Bunnie!" Congragulated Sonic, revving his feet as he grinned.

Bunnie hopped down from the dino bots lower jaw, then grabbed onto Sonic's shoulders. "Now lets find Uncle Chuck." said Sonic, dissapearing in a blaze of blue into the Dino bots gullet.

***

baring her teeth in a silent snarl, Tristina quietly allowed the shadows of the air duct to swallow her wheelchair and herself.

she backed further into the darkness as a swatbots finger light searched the dusty duct.

shining the light into the farthest reaches of the duct that it could, the swatbot clicked off the light and continued its search on the catwalks.

Tristina silently exhaled through her nose, then peered out of the vent to watch the swatbots retreating backside dissapear around the corner.

Dang. Tubby must have these butt-bots going through this place with a fine toothed comb.* Tristina thought, frowning as she continued to make her way down the air duct.

Noting a gradual incline of the vent, Tristina stopped wheeling and raised one hand. her eyes faded to a pure white as a blue holo-screen formed at her raised hand.

seconds later, the hedgehogs cut off gloved fingers began to type.

[tiff15]

Authors Note: Okay, I'm sorry for the inconvience, but I've slightly re arranged the 'scene's' in the story to make the story more streamline. I'll be placing the part repeated above in spoiler tags so you dont get confused.
[br]
Chapter 5 part 4.2

***
"Sir, I've located a abnormality in the operations file of Hover Pad 22602." Robotnik's eyes flashed at this interruption. "Abnormalities occur all the time, Snivley." He reminded his nephew as he continued to adjust Cluck's beak. "Sir, Hover pad 22602 is the one reported missing this morning, As well as the one Swatbot team 6 reported being used by the hedgehog and the Princess." Robotnik snarled at this. of course! cursing himself for this oversight, He swiveled his faded green command chair to face his nephew. "What kind of abnormality, Snivley?" he snarled, petting cluck tensely. "transferring to monitor three, sir." said Snivley, typing in the command.

Moments later, green letters began to appear on the blackened screen in a typewriter style...

Access request: Hover pad controls
Username: Hak2savFreFi
Password: **********
.........
Access granted. Welcome, Hak2savFreFi.
Requesting damage assessment...
.....
Damage assessment minimal. loss of propulsion systems and power amplifiers.
Request remote access and emergency landing...
Access granted.
beginning permission transfer to Hak2savFreFi...
Permission granted.
Accessing backup engines and beginning emergency landing procedures.
Access granted.
Hak2savFreFi logging out...


"Hak two sav free fie." Robotnik muttered, before his eyes widened. "its the hacker, Snivley. she's creating different user names each time she accesses a computer in Robotropolis." Robotnik's fist clenched as his teeth ground in fury. "Snivley, run a search on the Robotroplis databases. See if that username or any like it come up elsewhere." "But sir, a search that large could take hours, possibly even days to-" "DO IT!" Robotnik bellowed, slamming his fist down on the arm of his chair. "Yes sir." squeaked Snivley, turning around to begin to type.

****

Spoiler: show

baring her teeth in a silent snarl, Tristina quietly allowed the shadows of the air duct to swallow her wheelchair and herself. she backed further into the darkness as a swatbots finger light searched the dusty duct. shining the light into the farthest reaches of the duct that it could, the swatbot clicked off the light and continued its search on the catwalks. Tristina silently exhaled through her nose, then peered out of the vent to watch the swatbots retreating backside dissapear around the corner. Dang. Tubby must have these butt-bots going through this place with a fine toothed comb. Tristina thought, frowning as she continued to make her way down the air duct.

Noting a gradual incline of the vent, Tristina stopped wheeling and raised one hand. her eyes faded to a pure white as a blue holo-screen formed at her raised hand. seconds later, the hedgehogs cut off gloved fingers began to type.

.......
Requesting Username.
Username: AlHailPrinSal
Password:******
Welcome AlHalPrinSal to Robotropolis mainframe.
Please Stand by for security clearance
.....



Tristina bit her lower lip as she detected a trickle of fear from the part of her mind still connected to her body. She should have known that the Spy tower database was connected to the Robotropolis mainframe...as well as Robotniks own personal computer files. Okay Tiffy girl. Tristina thought, momentarily swallowing her nervousness. You can do this. just answer how Bolt butt would. Nodding to herself, Tristina began typing again as she re submerged herself into the database.

Re entering her username and password, Tristina re-read the computers 'welcome' message and waited for the scan. As it began, Tristina projected the same protocols that one of Robotnik's computer would. Hopefully these fake 'files' will make the computer think I'm just another Robotropolis server. Tristina thought.

.....
Firewall 01
Access granted
Firewall 02 bypassed
Firewall 03
Access granted
Firewall 04 bypassed
Security code requested.
Security code:0040032875916
Access granted.
retrieving file Towermap.exe

Tristina quickly located herself on the map, then logged out. As she resumed control of her body, she noticed her heart was racing and her palms were coated with sweat. closing her eyes, Tristina willed herself to stop shaking and her breath to slow. Okay, its not far now. Tristina thought, pulling back her arms to push herself forward. According to that file, the central control access port is about three more levels up. Getting there will be a bit more tricky thanks to my...company. Tristina thought, glaring at a nearby air vent as a Swatbot clanked by. But I should eventually get there. I can alert Sally if I'm going to be delayed getting back to the train.

Nodding to herself, Tristina quietly pushed herself forward.

[tiff15]

Chapter 5 part 5

***
"The main control panel is just beyond that bot." Sally quietly breathed more to herself than her friends. The faded green floor offered no comfort or help as she, Rotor, and Antione watched a pale blue and black minature walker unit lumber from control panel to control panel. As the bot's spindly legs held it infront of the freedom fighters, Sally's keen blue eyes spotted a flashing red square on the back of the bot's left foot. "Rotor." breathed Sally quietly, pointing. "Theres a toggle switch on its foot." Rotor pulled his girth level to his knees, then nodded.

"I'll get him to turn. You flip the switch." He whispered, slowly crawling out from under the control panel. Tip toeing over to the domed mechination, Rotor tapped one claw on its left arm. With surpising swiftness, the robot turned, seemed to register Rotor as a threat, and immidately began swinging its arms left and right, trying to grab Rotor's wrist.

In a lucky (or un lucky, from Rotors perspective) swing, the Robots mechanical left claw closed around Rotor's right wrist and lifted him off his feet. "Hey!" Rotor cried, pain shooting through his arm as gravity pulled on his weight. ignoring the pain, Rotor filled his lungs full of air. "Sally!" He cried. "Hit the switch!" Moments later, a double laser cannon potruded from the robot's chest. Rotor gasped as he heard the laser cartridge click into place. Hearing her friends terrified gasp, Sally stumbled in haste to the robot, and slapped her hand on the switch.

"Got it!" she cried as Rotor watched the monstrosity power down. As Rotor felt his heart slide from his throat back down to his ribcage, His ears picked up Antiones cry of "Gringo!" from under the control panel. "Antione," Rotor sighed. "Its 'bingo' not 'gringo'." Rotor then looked up to the claw. "Leggo, tinhead!" Rotor grunted, pulling his paw free from the robots claw. Rotor's paw slid out from inbetween the metal, and he fell with a yelp to the deactivated bots feet. "quick, over here!" Sally called as Rotor rotated his shoulder, trying to stop the needles shooting up from his wrist.

***

"This 'bot's flipped out Uncle Chuck!"
The Uncle chuck coined 'dino bot' lashed its tail and head wildly, its jaws still locked in a open position. Meanwhile, deep in the mechanical beasts gullet, Sonic, Uncle Chuck, and Bunnie stood near a control panel. "Lets hope he doesnt clear his throat." Uncle chuck muttered, eyeing his nephew. "Amen to that." said Bunnie as the robotic hedgehog wrapped his fingers around a green lever. Try as he might, Sir Charles could not get the lever to budge. "Lemme give you a hand there, charlie." said Bunnie, wrapping her robotic left hand around the lever. With realitive ease, she yanked the lever down and the group felt the dino bot collasp to the ground. "Thanks Bunnie." said Uncle chuck, giving a thumbs up and a wink to the half robotic rabbit. "Now, lets figure out how to control this baby." said Uncle chuck, his red eyes examining the various controls.

"Control it to do what?" asked Sonic, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. the robotic hedgehog turned to his nephew and pointed a metal finger to the screen. "to chop suey those cables!" the elderly robotic hedgehog declaired. at his nephews nodd, Uncle Chuck's eyes returned to the control panel. "Wish Tiff was here." sighed Sonic, looking at the screen. "She'd have a blast." spotting a out of place hatch near the bottom, Uncle chuck tugged on it to reveal four suspicious yellow keys. He grinned. "Yes, the control board." said Uncle chuck, wringing his hands with glee. "Now lets see if Dino bot will work for us." Just before the robotic hedgehog could do anything more than reach for the tempting yellow keys, a sudden crash and metal clanking caused all three to yelp in surprise. "Wassat?" Bunnie asked, looking at the roof of the dino bot. "The cranes! We gotta work fast!" Uncle Chuck cried, begining to type. After a few moments, the robotic hedgehog picked up a deep slime green phone and listened to the tone. "Come on, Sally! pick up!" he muttered, glancing up at the moving cranes.

***
"Organic audio disturbance detected. investigating."
Tristina bared her teeth at herself as her eyes watered from her sneeze. Backing up further into the air duct, Tristina raised her hand. as she furiously typed away at the light like keyboard, beads of sweat began to run down her neck as the light from the swatbots finger engulfed her. Heart hammering in her chest, Tristina kept her breath even and steady. "Scan complete. Subject: feral mouse. Non threat. resuming patrols." Tristina kept typing as the swatbot backed out of the air vent and reclosed it. As darkness and silence resumed the area, Tristina shakily lowered her hand as she felt her irises fade back in. covering her face with her hands, Tristina willed herself to stop shaking. "That...was too...close...for comfort." Tristina breathed, trembling.

As Tristina was about to move forward, a flashing light on her wheelchair control panel drew her eyes to the various useful keys. amidst the brightly colored buttons, a button with a triangle and echo lines at one end was flashing yellow. quickly pressing it, Tristina whispered "Yes, Princess?" "Hows it coming?" "'Buttnik's got the swats searching this place with a fine toothed comb. Hopefully his preoccupation with me is keeping the spotlight off of you. However, I just barely avoided being detected by a swatbot. I managed to scramble its visual sensors so it confused me for a mouse just as it saw me." Tristina explained without preamble.

"I shouldnt be too much farther from the central access port. It would be a lot faster if I could use the catwalks, but thanks to my 'company'-" "Take no uncessisary risks, Tiff. Just shut down that tower and come back to us." Tristina smiled as the Princess's interruption basically echoed her own plan. "Will do, Princess. Good luck." "You too." with a 'click', the light faded from the speaker key. Sighing, Tristina pushed herself forward into the inky depths as the footsteps of the swatbots continued to echo outside.

[tiff15]

Authors note: a huge huge HUGE apology for taking so long to finish this, but in between work, sleep, and RL, this kinda fell on the backburner for a bit. I'm glad I was finally able to wrap this up and I feel very happy to get back into the swing of things. so here we go!

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Chapter 6

"How is Mademoiselle Tristina?" Antione asked, looking curiously at Sally. The Princess looked up from Nicole to see Rotor and Antione anxiously staring at her.

"She's fine." said Sally, closing the computer and slipping it back onto her blue boot. "A little shaken up from a run in with that swatbot, but she's fine. as long as she stays in the air ducts, she should reach the access port with no problems."

"I sure hope so." said Rotor, glancing at the downed mechanical walker. "I'd hate for something to happen to her..."

the three were interrupted as a ringing phone pierced the silence, and Sally quickly snatched it up.

"Sally? its me." a gravelly voice whispered on the other end. "Uncle Chuck! We've reached the control center, and we're at the main control board right now." said Sally, smiling.

"Good job, Sal. Sonny, Bunnie and I have taken control of a dino bot. we're in its control room. Now, you need to shut down the mines main circuits."

"Okay but..." Sally paused, looking up at the various controls above her. "I dont see a control panel for the cranes."

"Must be seperate. Keep looking." Uncle Chuck encouraged. "We'll get this T- bot up and running, then try to ethier take care of the cranes or the crystal from here."

"Will do." said Sally, listening to the click of the phone as she hung up.

"Maybe one of these." Sally muttered to herself, pressing three yellow squares on a control panel above her.

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Meanwhile, Inside the Dino Bot, Uncle Chuck pressed a similar set of yellow squares on a keyboard infront of him. "Alright, lets get this T-bot crankin. Hit it Bunnie!"

the half robotic rabbit complied with quiet grunt. the level responded with a clank, and the Dino bot rumbled to life. "This T-Bots workin' for us now." Uncle Chuck growled happily as Bunnie and Sonic whooped with glee.

The Swatbots scattered in earnest, mainly in the interest of self preservation. as it neared the crystal, the claw on the dino bots right side slowly lifted towards the the sparkling gem.

Inside, Sonic (along with Bunnie) thrust his fist into the air with glee. "Large move!" Sonic whooped. "Shred that sucker!" As the pincers of the claw and arm inched closer to the tempting cables.

Suddenly, several smaller cables (appearing almost string like on the screen) enclosed around the claw like a net. finally, despite visable resistance from the claw and arm, the cables forced the claw of the screen.

outside the dino bot, Sonic and Bunnie could pick up the sound of winces and cranes clanking outside. "The claw is down!" Sonic yelped, despite the fact he knew Uncle Chuck and Bunnie could see the screen as well.

Uncle chuck stared at the screen for a moment longer, before his jointed robotic fingers began typing furiously at the keyboard. "We'll have to use the laser drill to destroy the crystal." Uncle Chuck said softly, a slight tone of desperation in his voice.

a slight vibration erupted around the robotic hedgehog and freedom fighters as the gears in the dino bots neck forced its head towards the crystalline threat.

the room was filled with a deafening hum as a and white beam leapt from the dino bots snout. there was a brief flash of light as the beam struck the crystal and dissolved in a blue flash.

after a moment, the gigantuan gem began to emit a faded yellow glow. faded yellow bands began to crackle around the crystal over the ropes securing it to the crane.

"The crystal absorbed the laser energy." Uncle chuck gasped with awe, staring at the screen. before Sonic could equally voice his amazement, he cried out as he, Bunnie and Uncle Chuck were violently tossed about in the bowels of the dino bot.

Holding onto the sparking control panel, Sonic, Uncle Chuck, and Bunnie screamed as the walls and floor shuddered and shook around them. Finally, with a almighty ear shattering crash, the dinobot fell and was still.

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Finally, took me long enough to get here. Tristina thought, staring at the flashing controls and the multicolored ribbons of energy above her.

a lone tech bot was operated the various control panels. a single light aqua throwing knife to the back of the head rendered the bot inoperable, and allowed Tristina to freely wheel towards and peruse the control panels at her lesiure. "Alright tubby, time to pay for the hell you put my friends through." Tristina whispered, begining to type at the keyboard.

after a few moments, various holo screens of data began to pop up infront of the disabled hedgehog. "Lets see... land map data...topigraphical data..." Tristina muttered to herself as she read through the list. "Ah ha, here we go. structural identification data." Tristina frowned, then swore to herself.

"Looks like some data DID managed to escape Project: Sally and make it to Robotnik's databases. crud. This isnt good." Tristina muttered, frowning as she examined the information. "At least he didnt get Knotholes exact location, but the fact this thing picks up structural data is...unsettling." Tristina then grinned. "Well then, lets just make some 'adjustments' to Robotnik's data shall we?"

grinning evilly to herself, Tristina's eyes began to glow pure white as her fingers typed furiously away at the keyboard.

After what seemed like forever, the streams of data flowing above Tristina began to rippling as they weakened, then grew in strength...and continued growing. the ribbons glowed brighter, then began crackling as red lights flashed around her.

Tristina ignored them, grinning ferociously as her fingers flew over the keyboard keys. with a high pitched groan and several loud cracks, the brightly glowing (almost neon) ribbons of light dissapated. Tristina's eyes faded back in as the red lights and sirens continued blaring.

"Heh. I knew all those stories Sally asked me to memorize for Tails would come in handy someday." Tristina muttered, chuckling to herself.

The smile dissapeared as the building began to rumble around Tristina, and various nuts, bolts, bits of dust began to shower around Tristina. as a control panel next to Tristina gave a violent spark, Tristina picked up an alert being shouted by the swatbots.

"Evacuate! All units, Evacuate! Building self destruct mode activated." Tristina wheeled out onto the catwalk and watched the swatbots that had made it to the bottom floor run as fast as they could...even if it was a bit stiff...to the door.

"Welp, my job is done. As blue would say, 'I'm outta here!'" Tristina said quietly, quickly shifting to hover mode and lowering the rotation of the fans so she half floated half fell to the bottom floor. half a foot from the ground, Tristina shifted back to ground mode and - with a slight bounce - wheeled at top speed towards the exit. As Tristina shot through the entrance, several large pieces of catwalk and scrap from the computer systems crumpled to the ground behind her.

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"This is it..." Uncle Chuck half moaned, half whispered, typing wearily at the keyboard. "We cut it loose now, or Mobius is finished!" Around them, the gears of the entire bot groaned and shuddered as the head positioned itself once again towards the cables.

with another whining moan, the whitish red lined laser beam exploded from under them. a satisfying 'crack' and 'snap' exploded towards the ears of the freedom fighters and the block like crane shuddered to a stop.

Time seemed to stand still and Sonic, Uncle Chuck, and Bunnie barely breathed as the crane groaned just at the hole in the cavern roof. with another snap, then 3 more the crystal fell and crumbled to the ground.

there was another groan, and the ropes holding the crane snapped and sent the surprisingly delicate machinery hurdling towards the rocky ground below.

"YEES!" Uncle Chuck bellowed, thrusting his entire body into the air as the dusty ground encircled the now useless block of metal that was once the crystals crane. "We did it, Sonny boy!" Uncle Chuck cried as his nephew cheered and he happily wrapped his arms around Bunnie.

"Yes, alright!" Bunnie crooned, laughing happily as well. Abruptly stopping the celebrations, Uncle Chuck turned to his nephew. "Now we need to hook up with the others and get outta here." Sonic and Bunnie nodded, then began to follow Uncle Chuck back up the dino bots throat toward its mouth.

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"Sally, I did it. Any data the tower downloaded about Knothole and the surrounding area has been deleted. I'll give you all the juicy details later, but The tower is crumbling as we speak, and I'm making my way back to the train station now!" Tristina's voice reported through Nicole as Sally typed at the keyboard.

A slight whistling along with a faint siren in the background confirmed Tristina's report. "Alright Tiff, see you soon." said Sally. a quiet beep signaled Tristina had closed the connection. "There," said Sally with a final 'click'. "Everything is shut down except for emergency power." Sally then turned back to Antione and Rotor, who were watching her anxiously. "Lets get back to the elevator."

Racing down the metal catwalks with Antione and Rotor, Sally glanced over the edge to the lower level to see a familiar blue (and in her mind extremely handsome) hedgehog, followed only slightly by a elderly robotic hedgehog on his left and a half robotic rabbit on his right. running full tilt into the elevator, Sally, Antione and Rotor turned to face the elevator doors as they closed.
-----------------------------------------------------

Sonic and Bunnie dodged as a laser blast similar to the ones that had ended the crystal they had sought to stop seared past them. stumbling slightly, Sonic joined his Uncle and Bunnie behind a mine cart.

The blasts kept coming, causing Bunnie and Uncle Chuck huddled together in a moment of panic. Gasping as Sonic touched her arm, Bunnie and Uncle Chuck's gaze followed the younger hedgehog's finger over the top of the Mine cart wall to the safety of the interior.

With a quiet boost from Sonic, Uncle Chuck and Bunnie clambered to the interior of the mine cart. Barely sparing the swatbots closing in behind him, Sonic pressed his gloved palms against the metal wall of the cart. a red blur erupted beneath the supersonic hedgehog, and with a blast of dust Sonic and the mine cart shot forward from thier persuers.

a mile ahead, a elevator door opened and three anxious freedom fighters looked on as Sonic helped Bunnie and Uncle Chuck out of the cart.

dodging the gaining swatbots lasers, Sonic, Bunnie, and Uncle Chuck joined Sally, Rotor, and Antione in the elevator and turned to back into the walls as the swatbots ran towards them. Just as the mechanical soldiers were upon the freedom fighters, the metal door closed and the lift began to shake as it carried its relieved occupants to the floor above.

"Sally girl," began Bunnie. "What about-" "Tiff contacted me just before we picked you guys up." Sally interrupted, trying to calm herself down enough to speak. "She's destroyed the tower as well as any data on knothole. She's going to meet us at the train."

"I definately would like the chance to get to know this 'Tiff' better." Uncle Chuck mused, scratching his chin. "Mikanueans like her are extremely rare, and it would be facinating to actually speak to one." "Rare? What do you-" Sally was interrupted as the lift clanked to a stop and the door opened with a quiet rumble.

"Theres our ride outta here!" Sonic cried, pointing to the train car that had brought them there.

As the freedom fighters raced to the train car, Sonic briefly spotted Tristina flying towards them in the distance. relief at the sight of his friend was short lived however, as a metallic groan and a hiss erupted behind him.

As Sally, Bunnie, Antione and Rotor gathered in the train car, Sonic reached out to help up the collasped robotic hedgehog.

"Uncle Chuck? Whats up?" Sonic asked, his heart trembling as Uncle chucks hand reached behind his back and pulled out the large golden hoop. "Oh man." Sonic moaned, his voice cracking as he felt tears begin to burn behind his eyelids.

"Its alright, Sonic." the robotic hedgehog gasped as Sonic's fingers curled around the dimmed power ring. "We saved Mobius...thats the important thing."

Sonic swallowed a sob building in his throat, as well as the following wimper as the lump came to rest somewhere in the middle of his chest. "We gotta get you back to Knothole, warp seven." Sonic croaked, dispising the crack in his voice as he moved to help his Uncle to his feet.

"Its too..." Uncle Chuck gasped, secretly wishing his nephew would just leave him.

"Its too late..." Uncle Chuck gasped as he held his head with one hand.

"Sonny..." He breathed as his hand left his head and returned once again to the ground.

"Uncle Chuck?" Sonic asked, hoping to get one more word...even just his name...from his Uncle.

two fierce, almost primal, glowing red eyes met his. Sonic stood rooted as a look of pure hatred and disgust twisted the robots once gentle face. Uncle Chuck let out a threating roar as he looked up at Priority One hedgehog, then hissed as he got to his feet and crouched in a tense stance.

"Sonic, he's turned back." Sally pleaded with thier leader, trying to get him to willingly join them on the train.

"You gotta come with me!" Sonic begged as Sally once again called his name, then gasped. Sonic turned to see two moss green and ink black hover units hurdling towards them.

"Uncle Chuck!" Sonic cried out in surprise and pain as his Uncle's fingers closed around his upper arms and shook him slightly, all the while emitting that detestable angry hiss.

Suddenly, a blast of light blue energy seperated the two as Antione and Bunnie's fingers closed around ethier of Sonic's arms. "Come on, Shuga Hog!" Bunnie cried as she and Antione dragged thier leader away from his roboticized family.

"Uncle Chuck!" Sonic cried at the top of his lungs, only able to watch as Tristina joined them, a light blue light fading from both her hand and Uncle Chuck's eyes.

"Sonic," Sally replied, choking back a sob. "We have to leave him." There was no reply as the train car door closed and the car itself began to rattle down the tracks.

a faint growl reached them, but none saw Uncle Chuck order the two hovercrafts after the fleeing freedom fighters...nor did they hear the whine of the hover crafts as they narrowly avoided colliding with the steel wall as the car escaped into a tunnel.

"What did you do?!" Sonic screamed, his fury Tristina by surprise.

"Sonic, I'm-"

"Shut up!" Sonic roared, his hands slamming the mikanuean's wheelchair into the opposing wall. "Answer me! What the hell did you do to Uncle Chuck?!"

"I rebooted his systems, thats all! I swear!" Tristina cried, fear now creeping into her voice. "He was going to hurt you, Sonic! I had to-"

"No! Uncle Chuck would never hurt me!" Sonic bellowed. "He loves me! He would never..." Sonic's furious, wrinkled snarl slowly began to dissapate, and his rapidly glistening eyes quietly widened.

"I...He..." stepping away from Tristina, Sonic backed into a the trains opposing wall. His knees buckled as his quills scraped the metal wall. folding his arms around his knees, Sonic buried his head untill only his ears and quills showed.

tears stung Tristina's eyes as a quiet sobbing accompanied Sonic's lurching peach shoulders. Tristina's stinging spine was soon drowned by the building sorrow in her own heart as she watched Bunnie and Sally crouch next to their grieving leader.

"I should'a saved him." Sonic moaned into his gloved hands, his head rolling from side to side. Tristina swallowed her own sob, mainly to keep from adding to the comotion, as tears quietly rolled down her own peach cheeks.

"Ya did what you could, honey, We couldnt bring him back." said Bunnie, kneeling next to Sonic. "He's loyal to Robotnik." she finished with a soft bite at the name. "We'll get him back another day, Sonic." said Sally softly, as Sonic rested his chin on his arms, an occasional tear still rolling down his cheeks. "Promise." she added gently, and even Tristina had to crack a smile.

"Yeah, and look what we were able to do with Uncle Chuck." said Rotor, a bit of pride shining through his gentle tone. "We totaled that crystal!" "tres manifique!" Antione added hopefully.

"Sonic." said Tristina, pushing her wheelchair forward slightly. "I'm not sure how he knows, but I managed to copy some of the Roboticizers main programming from Uncle Chuck's memories." said Tristina, mentally kicking herself for refrencing her attack on the elderly robotic hedgehog.

"You know, I was able to copy some of the roboticizers software." added Sally, stroking Sonics arm gently. "One day, we'll change Uncle Chuck back...permanently." "Along with all of our families." added Rotor comfortingly.

Sonic stared at his red and white sneakers for a moment, then looked up at the disabled hedgehog infront of him. "Your sure you just made him restart?"

Tristina nodded solemnly. "He still has his personality and memories, it will only be as if he's waking up from a brief nap." Tristina explained gently, deciding to forgoe the comparison of Uncle Chuck to Nichole. Sonics forgiving smile was all the apology Tristina needed.

Rolling his head on the back wall, Sonic's slightly bloodshot eyes fell upon the door where he had last seen Uncle Chuck.

"Hang in there, Uncle Chuck." He vowed as another tear fell down his cheek. "We'll be back."

The End.